Moiré Patterns of Graphene on Metals

Different concepts are summarized on how to describe moire patterns that appear if two lattice mismatched layers are stacked on top of each other. Especially, descriptions that focus on spatial frequencies of the patterns are discussed in detail. The particular geometry of two arbitrarily aligned hexagonal lattices with different lattice constants is outlined and applied for graphene on hexagonally packed transition metal support surfaces on which this highly wanted material can be synthesized. The large variety of moire patterns reported for supported graphene can be analyzed by a straightforward moire pattern analysis which explains many geometrical properties of the grown sp 2 networks. The results can be directly applied for other stacked 2D materials that currently experience a great scientific interest.